Sprint Galaxy S3 review

Samsung's Ferrari is stuck in the slow lane for a little while longer, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should pass up the Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) on Sprint

Say you're one of the top smartphones in the world. (In the whole entire world!) You know you're going to sell millions and millions of units in more countries than a 10th-grader has to memorize before the last week of school. You know your place in the world. Things are looking pretty good.

Oh, you're still that same bad-ass phone with that bad-ass phone strut -- at least as long as you've got a stable Wifi connection. But out on your own, with only a sub-par 3G network to get you by, it's like you're walking along in slow motion as the rest of the world flies by. How's that strut looking now? Yeah. Not so good.

But -- and we've said this before -- Sprint's working on it. We should see its LTE network go live any day now. And we know that the Samsung Galaxy S III is a more-than-capable smartphone. Indeed, it's easily in the running for the best Android phone of the year. So let's get to it. Behold, our Sprint Galaxy S3 mini-review.

The same stellar Galaxy S3 we've come to know in Europe and elsewhere, with the added power of Qualcomm's S4 processor. Officially has Google Wallet and runs the most recent version of Android. The price is right at $199 and $249 on contract.

Samsung's TouchWiz user interface has run its course and is more a hindrance than a help. We're still waiting on Sprint's LTE network (at the time of this review), and its current 3G network remains shameful. A number of Samsung's sharing customizations require a second Samsung phone to take advantage of them.

Buy the Galaxy S3 because it's the Galaxy S III, and it just happens to be on Sprint. And despite all the gloom and doom, we've got high hopes for the network. But right now it's an anchor dragging down a high-class fleet of phones.

Inside this review

More info

Wait! Why a Galaxy S3 min​i-review?

We know, right? Why not 5,000 words on the merits of the Galaxy S III and how it's the greatest phone ever! Well, we've already done that. Go read Alex's review of the international version. It'll cover 80 percent of what you need to know about the Galaxy S III on Sprint.

"But, Phil!" you cry. "They're different phones!" And you're right. The versions of the Galaxy S3 you'll find in the United States have more RAM and a dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor instead of an Exynos 4 quad-core chip. And we'll get to that. But aside from the chipset and added RAM, and a smattering of carrier-branded apps, and a logo on the back, the phones are exactly the same. Same physical design. Same dimensions. Same software.

But pick two people off the street who don't live and breathe smartphones, and they'll never know the difference. So, with that in mind, read on. We'll talk about the differences, and what you need to know for the phone on Sprint.

The Galaxy S III one-take walkthrough

The Sprint Galaxy S3 hardware

This is easy. On the outside, Sprint's Galaxy S3 has the exact same hardware as every other Galaxy S3. Same beautifully round body. Same stunning curves. Same ridiculous 8.6 mm-thin physique. Same 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display at 720x1280 resolution. Same 8-megapixel rear camera. Same Android 4.0.4 with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface.

Sprint hasn't changed a thing, and good on Samsung for somehow making that happen.

The design of the hardware is excellent, though we're still not crazy about Samsung throwing a curve ball at the button scheme by going with a physical home/multitouch/S Voice button, keeping a menu button and moving the back button to the right. We're not crazy about that change, but neither can we do a whole hell of a lot about it. But the GSIII is curvy in all the right places, and we love the subtle slope from the edge of the display to the silver bezel.

The display is Super AMOLED, and it's pretty darn good. As we pointed out in our earlier review, it's not quite as crisp as HTC's Super LCD 2 display, but chances are you'll be plenty happy with it. We've had no problem switching back and forth. (Having the same resolution certainly helps there.)

Under the hood is where the action's at, though. Sprint (along with the other U.S. versions of the Galaxy S3) is rocking a dual-core Qualcomm S4 processor at 1.5 GHz. That's the same one we've come to know and love in the HTC One X, with its integrated LTE radio for better power consumption. And it's every bit as fast as we expect it to be. We've only seen a few instances of apps lagging -- the new Temple Run: Brave, for one -- and chances are that's as much a problem with the app as it is the hardware running it. This is still one of the best chipsets you can get in a smartphone.

And Samsung's done us one better, bumping the RAM up to a full 2 gigabytes. You'll have about 1.6 gigabytes available for running apps and stuff, meaning you've got a lot of RAM to run apps and stuff. And by stuff, we mean TouchWiz, and the other system stuff that you need not worry your pretty little head about.

The bottom line is that this sucker is fast, fast, fast, just like its cousins.

As for storage, Sprint's offering 16- and 32-gigabyte versions. We've got the 32GB version here, and Samsung has split the storage at 12GB as internal "phone storage" (for installing apps and whatever else you want), and another 12GB that's recognized as an internal SD card. On top of that, you've got a microSD card slot that'll (unofficially) take up to a 64GB card. The Galaxy S3 is not lacking for storage.

A quick word on battery life: Samsung sent us an unactivated review unit, and it's only been attached to the network for 24 hours or so, though we've been using it for a number of days on Wifi. (Thanks, CDMA.) Also worth remembering is that Sprint's in the middle of retooling not just its 4G network, but it's entire 3G network as well, and that's going to make a big difference when everything's said and done. That said, we're easily getting between 12 and 14 hours of use on AT&T before we start looking for a charger. If we see anything of note on the Sprint side, we'll update this section accordingly.

Data speeds ... well, let's just say we're counting the minutes until Sprint finally launches its 4G LTE network and retooled 3G network, all part of its Network Vision plan. Otherwise, it's the same abysmal 3G speeds we've come to know and loathe. Oh, and like on the HTC EVO 4G LTE, the Galaxy S3's LTE SIM card is internal, meaning there's nothing to swap out.

The Sprint Galaxy S3 software

Sprint's Galaxy S3 is running Android 4.0.4 (as of this writing, that's the most version of Android, but that might well change very soon) and Samsung's new "TouchWiz Nature UX" user interface.

Read through our comprehensive TouchWiz walkthrough (and, again, Alex's full GS3 review), but know this: Your's truly is no longer a fan. I'd recommend a third-party launcher, at the very least, if not a full custom ROM.

The short version is this: This version of TouchWiz very much looks like a continuation of the past couple of versions. But in a year when we've seen the likes of Google with stock Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC with Sense 4 pare things down and make using a phone simpler, Samsung has continued to pile on feature after feature after feature. Usefulness can be debated, but even we're having a hard time keeping up with all the little bells and whistles. Samsung would do better to scale back on the tricks and redesign TouchWiz into something more that's easier to use and has a more subtle design.

And as for the much-heralded S Voice? So long as you use it knowing that it's nowhere near as good as the iPhone's Siri, you'll be just fine. Siri it is not.

As far as Sprint's concerned, it's really left the phone unmolested. There are far more Samsung apps that you might or might not use than there are Sprint-branded apps. In fact, all you'll find are Sprint Hotspot (certainly useful if you intend to do any tethering), Sprint Voicemail (again, a good one), Google Wallet (sadly, still mostly confined to Sprint) and Sprint Zone, from which you can download other Sprint-specific applications. Again, Kudos to Sprint for not mucking things up with apps we don't want, while giving us the option to download them if we do. Sadly, the same no longer can be said for Samsung.

And because someone will ask, yes, you can disable the Sprint Zone app. There actually are a couple other Sprint-branded apps buried in the system, but Hotspot and Sprint Zone are the only ones you'll see in the app drawer.

The Sprint Galaxy S3 cameras

Again, nothing surprising here. The Galaxy S III has the same 8-megapixel rear shooter that we've been enjoying for a number of weeks now.

As has become the theme with the latest version of TouchWiz, Samsung's camera app could use some simplification. All the parts are there, with plenty of options. But the UI's got too much going on, especially when compared to other camera apps.

Get over that, however, and you've still got an excellent pocketable camera for taking above-average point-and-shoot pics. Here are a few.

Warning: Images open in full resolution in a new window

Other odds and ends

The Galaxy S3 speaker is loud. Too loud. It has a bad habit of cracking and distorting the tiny speaker.

Samsung's default keyboard is just OK. You'll be better off with a third-party option. (Though try the 3x4 keyboard if you're into that phone dialer experience.)

The wrap up

Look, we've been a little harsh on Sprint. Not that it's unwarranted -- its current 3G network is shameful for far too many people -- but we're tired of having to write it. It also casts a dark shadow on what is a very good smartphone. The Galaxy S III is no slouch. That Samsung has managed to bring one version to multiple carriers is nothing short of amazing. So long as you don't have an issue with a phone being made of plastic, it feels​ like you'd expect a high-end smartphone to feel.

As we also wrote in our EVO 4G LTE review, what we have here is an excellent phone on a sub-par network. Sprint promises that'll change. And in all likelihood, we'll start to see that change real soon. At $199 on contract for the 16GB version and $249 for the 32GB option (and you will be able to find it for less), the Sprint Galaxy S III is a good buy. Samsung has kept its part of the bargain. Now Sprint needs to deliver.

Anyone know if there is a way to unlock the SG3 by having to push the home button to answer calls? Instead of an on screen answer button? I know, crazy but I actually use my phone to talk!

Been using evo lte for a couple weeks now and having some funny glitches (unlocks itself and ends up almost writing emails in my pocket). Used the og evo for past two years. Fixed the pocket answer of old evo with a slider unlock app. Doesn't work with evo lte and tried a couple other apps with no success yet. Have major troubles in the summer heat. Miss my old BB's soo much in the summer with the physical answer and call push buttons. But that's all I miss.

How is slide unlock in one direction significantly less susceptible to pocket unlock than ring unlock? I don't get it... In any case, why not just put a pattern lock on it and make it a very simple single straight line pattern? Would work even better since it requires the slide pattern first followed by the ring (tho you cab bypass the pattern with the camera shortcut, for camera use that is). Or is the problem actually that took you're unlocking it as you slide it out of pocket while it rings? I really don't understand, haven't had any such issues myself, but I was already used to this Lou lock screen thanks to the EVO 3D.

Unlocks when you slide it out of pocket to answer. Old evo (sense) was known for this and we all fixed it with iphone slider unlock apps. And actually when performing physical activity in summer heat the phone rings, just moves in your pants and either answers or declines the call. I'm sure I'll find an app that will end up working properly for the lte.
My main questions was just whether it's possible to use the home button as a physical answer (talk) button. That way no apps would be needed.

I haven't seen it done, most custom ROMs that reassign fictions to those buttons replace the default action so I'm not sure id it'd ever be practical... I gotta say I live in blistering heat during the summer (Puerto Rico) and I haven't had this issue, but I also don't take the phone with me if I'm like running or playing basketball. I can see how it'd be an issue with either tight or sweaty clothing. Have you tried putting it upside down in your pocket? It'd be hard to ring unlock or drag answer/decline to the ring if the bottom of the phone is sliding out first.

hmmm EVO or GS3......my g/f is getting the S3 tomorrow (heres hoping) and my 30 day return policy at best buy will be up in a few days. Having played with both I wonder which Phil would recommend or if as other articles have suggested it really comes down to a few bells and whistles like hardware camera button and kickstand or s-voice and eye tracking. Personally if that is the case I will stick with the Evo because S-voice and eye track are software and can be replicated (or tricked into working on other devices ala S-voice leak). Hard choice. We'll see.

Removable battery and 2GB of RAM vs camera button, kickstand, and a slightly better display is really what it comes down to. Everything else is just subjective; button arrangement, Sense/TW, perceived build quality, looks, etc. HTC has shown better update support IMO and I liked the overall aesthetic of the EVO better so that's what I opted for. I really dislike Samsung's choice to go with a menu button but I could live with it, I really like their side power buttons and that physical home button (makes it easier to wake the phone when it's laying flat). Modded my EVO to wake on volume key press, very happy with it.

The Evo LTE has s significantly better screen, not slightly better. It also has a better/stronger/more attractive case (aluminum). The additional memory in the SIII is very compelling, but that is really the only advantage it has- the battery lives are so long in these new phones, it is just not going to be a problem for most people (and yes, you CAN replace the battery in the Evo LTE by removing a few screws).

In any case, they are both killer phones and it would be a hard decision for anyone to make when faced between the two.

Well, even the display can be debated, personally I much prefer SLCD's more accurate colors and overall sharpness... But I could see how someonmight prefer AMOLED's blacks for media playback or the larger size of Samsung's display... They're still the best two displays out there, heck, probably the best two phones out there; tho VZW's SGS3 probably has the better combination of frequency support + GSM roaming, very surprised Sprint passed on that and curious if there's a technical reason.

You can REPLACE the battery, not swap it out whenever it gets low and you have a spare battery on you. Who wants to carry around a screwdriver, worry about losing screws, and void their warranty just for the battery?

I've actually found USB battery packs more convenient when I travel since I don't have to power down the phone, but being able to swap batteries and get a full charge in five minutes is definitely still a boon for really heavy users. 20% battery after thirteen hours off charger with nearly five hours of display use on my EVO right now btw, I think I'm going back to manual brightness for daily use even tho the stock auto values work better than the EVO3D's... It's still brighter than it has to be pretty often, or I might mod the values instead, I think I read the three lowest auto tiers all set the same brightness so it could definitely auto adjust even better.

Just learned why I'm not gonna be one of the lucky people that preorder and get their phone a day or two early.
Sprint hadn't processed my order because -even though I already found out from good ol' AC here - the price for total equipment protection for the GSIII is $11, well the site said $8 when I selected it, so I just now got a call to confirm my order. Looks like I won't get mine til tomorrow or Friday :-\

Lol, that's such BS, they're not even supposed to charge $11 until August or September because they're required by law to give customers 3 months advanced notice. I already got my fist bill after buying my EVO LTE and was in fact still charged $8. I feel for ya tho, my Wirefly order experienced ever form of possible delay... I ended up getting it a week and a half after launch (last week) even tho I pre ordered like on the 8th, of May.

The bad: "We're still waiting on Sprint's LTE network (at the time of this review), and its current 3G network remains shameful."

Ouch! Reminds me of having a top of the line computer, but stuck on dial up speeds. A slow network connection is the Achilles heel of any networked computing device! It really detracts from the power of the device. :(

This is one reason I prefer torrenting to streaming. Once I have it downloaded in HD there is no chance halfway through Netflix will decide my network speed is too low and it needs to switch to low def.

HELP!
is there a way i can have theme like stock android 4 and still stay on same samsung rom? i want to keep the gesture samsung provided and also get the effects that come in stock android like while switching the screen and sliding across and when its locked it shuts like old tvs with horizontal line.
thanks

"As for storage, Sprint's offering 16- and 32-gigabyte versions. We've got the 32GB version here, and Samsung has split the storage at 12GB as internal "phone storage" (for installing apps and whatever else you want), and another 12GB that's recognized as an internal SD card."

Is this accurate? If so, that pisses me off so much. I am so tired of manufacturers selling supposedly large amounts of storage and then dictating that I can only use so much of it for apps. Why can they not just have 32GB available (after the requisite 2-3 GB for /system) for apps? My Tab 10.1 has 32 GB and I have 18 GB worth of apps installed on it, why do they not want us to be able to install apps? Now I have to decide between getting a 7 month old phone (the GNex) or a phone that will frustrate me by making me constantly uninstall apps (the GS3).

For a large majority of users, it is more important to have a separate partition for SD card storage (which can be used as a jump drive or whatnot) than it is to have unlimited app storage. I am a power user of my android phone and I get along just fine with a gig or two of app storage. What you would do with 18 gigs of apps is entirely beyond me. I would love to see what your app drawer looks like (being genuine here, I would really like to see it)

I have never understand how someone could go through so much storage with just apps. Even as a power user I frequently go through and purge out apps that are no longer in use or that I can do without just to keep the app drawer clean.

One word: hoarders... I may use that some day, better keep it. Or those who install anything and everything they come across and never think of uninstalling anything (or of the consequences of bad apps), yet wonder why the phone lags or crashes. D'OH! I see it every day with PC's in the IT field. :D

Haha, I can totally see why you would call me an app hoarder. I'd say that I promise I'm not, but I've seen the show Hoarders and they are all in denial, so I will let you guys decide for me. My laptop has 100 GB free out of 283, and only like 8 games installed, so I dunno.

What bothers me about it though is more the theory of the thing. If my phone has 32 GB of storage, let's say 28 GB are left after /system. I have Titanium backup make automatic backups, but only keep 1 copy, and currently that's just under 2 GB. Then about 4 GB for a nandroid. Then say I have about 4 GB of music and pictures that I keep synced to my phone. That amount varies, and I do use Google Music when I can, but I'm on Sprint, and let's be honest, streaming at 320 kbps or even 256 kbps is not exactly easy on Sprint 3G. That uses 10 GB already. But what if I want to keep the last 3 backups for Titanium backup, and 2 or 3 nandroids for different roms? Well then I might need more than the 12 GB Samsung has set aside for the internal "sd card". But what if I want to install games on my phone like my Tab, since I don't always have the Tab with me? Then I have to pick and choose which games to install carefully, as some of the bigger ones take up nearly a gig or more.

It also boils down to future-proofing for me. All apps, games and otherwise, keep getting bigger as graphics get better, network speeds increase, etc. So if I, the potential "app hoarder", is desperate for space at 2012 app sizes, then if someone else keeps this phone for 2 years, what about them? What will 2014 app sizes be? Games at 3-4 gigs? Certainly possible.

Going back to the first comment, about using phone as jump drive, I would say that's why it's good this phone has a regular sd card slot. Put an 8, 16, or 32 gig card (or hell, 64) and you've got a decent jump drive for files and such. But the internal storage shouldn't be limited like that. At the very least, make the eMMC read-write instead of read-only so it can be repartitioned. If I look at ROMs for my current phone (Evo 3D), Sense ones are like 400 MB, whereas AOSP ones are like 120 MB. Let me reclaim that ~280 extra MB for what I want to use it for, let me repartition the eMMC!

In the end, like I said, it's more the theory. If I buy the device, I should be able to determine what goes on the empty storage space. Look at the original apps2sd implementations on the G1/MT3G, they were janky as hell. Even at a 32 GB class 10, I don't want to resort to crummy solutions to fitting apps on my phone, especially when there's several gigs sitting there of "free space" that I can't get to.

See, I do try to clean them out, but the difficulty I have is that I end up forgetting about apps that I want to use or games that I want to play. I install maybe 10-15 apps a week (of course not all paid!), and 5-10 of those are ones that I no longer want and just uninstall. Problem is, what if I need space and have to uninstall something that I want to use? I often end up forgetting about said app.

Well, I had not thought of the "using phone as jump drive" replacement idea, and I suppose that would matter for some users. Honestly, a lot of what my own app space boils down to is games. Android games have been getting larger and larger due to improved graphics and sound and other factors, and so instead of the 3 MB ish that Robo Defense took up on my G1, you get Order & Chaos which takes up over 700 MB in and of itself. Looking at my Tab right now, Shadowgun comes in at 1.43 GB, Modern Combat 3 at 1.06, Dungeon Defenders Second Wave at 0.91 GB, GTA3 at 620 MB, etc. So the 5 biggest games on my Tab right now take up about 4.7 GB in and of themselves.

I dunno if the link will work but http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OATqacXgkQ there is my app drawer :) Apparently youtube mobile uploads limit to 480p, but you can still see them. I'm using Apex Launcher which is the reason the app drawer is wider. It cut me off but what I was trying to say was that 22 GB are used, but of course some of that is other stuff like music or Titanium Backup files.

This concerns me too. I play a lot of gameloft games that require atleast 1gb of game data. Some like Nova 3 require 2gb of game data alone. Thus the reason I switched to the 32gb one. Not very good news.

I'd like to know how well you can see the screen in the noon day sun? I've never owned an HD SuperAMOLED screen and I am hoping the visibility is extremely good. Would anyone care to elaborate or confirm? Is there a video depicting it?

What do you mean "moved the back button to the right".
It's supposed to be on the right.
Do all U.S model phones have the back button on the imperial side instead of metric or something? never noticed.

Now that I have seen all of the phones side by side, I can now understand why so many people are of the opinion that the One X is a much better looking phone. Even the Evo LTE looks a lot more solid sitting next to the Galaxy S III. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure the the GS3 is a beast in its on right -- and will most likely smoke both phones in performance, especially in the multitasking arena. I'm just saying that the GS3 looks like a toy sitting next to the HTC phones.

Does anything think LTE will eventually die out on phones, once everybody gets a grip and realizes they're tired of charging their phones twice a day? For laptops, and maybe tablets, with larger batteries, it will be great. But phones will be looking at HSPA+, or some other older technology. Hopefully, we all realize this before the phone companies tear out their old infrastructure to replace it with LTE.

I think you're either completely misinformed, or just uninformed. Please read some more first. These new LTE phones are getting double the battery life of previous phones. No there's no reason to go backwards now. LTE isn't the battery drain the WIMAX is.

And understand that going forward every new generation of chips will use LTE with less and less power. That's like saying 30 years ago, "Cars are going to stop using gas since they can only go 15 miles per gallon"

A few questions, Phil. First off thanks for the review, but I really want to know how the phone's 'real-world' performance feels compared to the HTC One X. The One X (LTEVO) was fast, but it bogged down at times when switching from app to app (especially if you involve the market). Searching apps, downloading apps, searching new app, downloading new app, etc... was a pretty poor experience for me on the HTC One X. Downloading and installing the apps was fast, but switching from screen to screen was too damn slow. Not sure if it has to do with Sense's crappy memory management, or maybe 1gb isn't enough? I was inclined to blame HTC/Sense because I refuse to believe that an S4 would bog down under such use. So what's why I ask, how does this phone feel for everyday use compared to the HTC One X series of phones?

I remember with the Galaxy S2, Samsung decided to put a Qualcomm SoC in the US T-Mo version of the phone as opposed to the Exynos SoC. They used the same Qualcomm SoC that HTC used in the EVO 3D, except the T-Mo Galaxy S2 was a much faster phone (in real-world tests). My conclusion was that Samsung's software was simply better than HTC's. They were able to create a phone with a very smooth UI using the same SoC as the EVO 3D (which I owned), that felt slow and not nearly as fast as the T-Mo GS2.

i don think its software issue. its probably hardware, since samsung is top rank on memory field, (nano tech and stuff...) i guess the phone from samsung usually less laggy than Motorola, HTC, and other phones.(from what i experience)
plus when i did Galaxy s2, and HTC sensation comparison (owned two of them) HTC device was bit slow response, laggy(when i move to left or right home screen). I still donno y. i wish someone can explain to me.

When I compared them side by side, the HTC EVO 4G LTE does not demonstrate the lag that the One X does; a somewhat surprising result considering the common roots of two phones. Benchmarks have consistently shown the EVO 4G LTE to be slightly faster, though I doubt that small of a difference in a benchmark score would account for the extra lag on the One X. I think it would be quite revealing to find One X users that have rooted their phones: if the lag is still there, we could drop all charges against Sense 4.0 ;-)

Random Question but does the phone come with a microSD card or do I have to buy one? Judging from the pictures it doesn't but I wasn't sure if this was a review unit thing or how they are selling them.

Haha. Thanks for the heads up. SVDO is a must since we'll probably be waiting for LTE for quite a while.

Remember the good old days when the original EVO was released and it barely mattered that WiMax wasn't widely available because Sprint's 3G was solid? Yeah, hard to believe such a time existed.

I actually rocked the new EVO 4G LTE for a couple of weeks and eventually just decided against it. After the original EVO, I went to a SGSII, so getting the EO 4G LTE felt like coming home and I will miss that... I will miss that build quality, but there was absolutely no excuse for the EVO 4G LTE's laggy behavior. How could a brand new phone sometimes behave slower than my SGSII? I suspect it had something to do with Sense and the fact that only about 150MB of RAM were ever free on the phone - and sure, I could have loaded an AOSP ROM on it, but could I really justify paying $200+ for a phone that I couldn't run stock if I wanted to? Nope.

I have the Galaxy S2 on Sprint and I have no problem with it network in my area, I came from VZW, VZW has no signal inside my job. Which I`m working and living in the middle of their 4G LTE coverage. So Sprint has better network in here.

"You know you're going to sell millions and of units in more countries than a 10th-grader has to memorize before the last week of school."

hehe. I think you guys need to slow down before you hit that post button. =D

Anyways. There is a reason why I'm paying the $100 ETF and getting the heck off Sprint. I can't take it anymore. The speed of their network is just too damn slow on 3G and 4G is complete hit and more often then not miss, and miss some more, and some more after that.

Verizon here I come my fiery red lover. And the S3 just makes it all the better.

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